Generally, I can only listen to a certain amount of Christmas music at one time before I start going crazy. Don't get me wrong, there are some songs that are just CLASSICS! Both traditional and pop music. As I'm sure it may be foir you, it's just not Christmas until you hear those songs.

NOW. The question of WHEN to start. I am a VERY FIRM believer that ANYTIME before Black Friday is too early. I like each holiday to have it's own time. October is for Halloween, November is for Thanksgiving, and December is for Christmas (among others). I believe these shall never cross - lol. 

When we hit Black Friday, Thanksgiving is over and it's officially Christmas shopping season. That is the next major holiday, which is why I think this is the best time to start playing Christmas music.

No matter what your thoughts are on this, we are officially into the holiday season. Have a happy one :)

An update from Monday - I DID make it to the grocery store Tuesday afternoon!!! I'm so happy that I did not procrastinate another day :).

If you are a procrastinator like me, you know the daily struggle of telling yourself you'll stop it but that never seems to happen.I guess all we can do is continue pushing ourselves...like how I need to get in a continuous habit of going to the gym on my way home from work.

First world problems, huh? haha.

I had planned (and hoped) to go grocery shopping Monday afternoon...but I never did. All my life, I have been a procrastinator. All through college when I had a paper due on Monday, my thoughts were why should I work on it Friday or Saturday, when I have Sunday evening and Monday morning???

Same with shopping. I had to pick up my meal prep for the week and planned to go to the grocery store afterward. Well....after I picked up my meal prep, as I have said to myself all my life...I'LL JUST GO TOMORROW. Expect to see me at a grocery store near you on Tuesday afternoon...unless I say to myself "eh, I can go Wednesday". HAHAHAHA

I hope you had a happy, festive, and safe Halloween weekend. I hope your kids got as much candy their little systems (and frankly yours) can handle! Trick or Treat at my house was Saturday night - luckily, I ran out of candy before it was over so I had no more to snack on the rest of the weekend.

There were several adults in costumes with their kids, which was great to see :). There was the Stay Puft Marshmellow man and Fred Flintstone. One family was dressed as characters from Toy Story - Mom was Jessie, dad was Bullseye, and the child was Woody. I also saw two mothers dressed as Velma and Daphne from Scooby Doo!

What a great time Saturday! My next door neighbor really gets into Halloween with lights, a front-yard grave yard, and a big remote control spider on wheels that he'll scare kids with. So nice to see everyone on my block out passing out candy to the kids!

Thursday evening, I had dinner at my absolute FAVORITE restaurant in the area...Pancho's Southwest Grille on Massillon Rd in Green. Tex mex is my favorite style of cuisine, but these guys take it to the next level. I have yet to find another restaurant in our area where you can get New Mexico red or green hatch chile on your food - and I love green chile!!!

I have extended family that lives in Albuquerque, NM. If you've never been, it's a MUST SEE on your vacation destination list. One of my favorite things about visting, is the food! New Mexican cuisine is a mix of Spanish, Mexican, and Native American rolled into one. Even better, if you like heat...you can get red or green (or both, called Christmas style) chile on ANYTHING! Including breakfast!!!! 

That said, Pancho's in Green is the only place outside New Mexico that I have found that serves hatch chile - they ship it in directly from the Southwest :). If you have never tried it before: Red is hotter, Green is a little less hot. I'm making myself hungry once again just writing this! 

My mom volunteers as an usher at The Akron Civic Theatre (among other venues). As a thank-you to their volunteers, the staff at The Civic show a movie and provide snacks for them and their families. Being this time of year, it's usually a scary or suspenseful movie - last year was "The Birds", this year was "Rear Window".

It makes for a fun evening. We get dinner beforehand, then go down to the theatre where it's just staff and families and watch the movie with snacks. The best part...NO TRAILERS!!!!

I look forward to what they will show next year!

For many communities (including my neighborhood), trick or treat for kids is this weekend. I'm all ready to go! I went to the grocery store this past weekend and stocked up with a 125 piece variety pack. Hopefully I get at least that many kids coming by my house to get rid of inventory. I also bought a smaller bag in case, which I hope I have the will power to bring whatever is left over into work next week.

Stay tuned, because if that will power is weak, I see a membership to Weight Watchers in my future! ;) LOL

This afternoon I woke up to the extremely sad news that actor/comedian Leslie Jordan had died in a car accident. Apparently he suffered a medical emergency while driving. He was such a funny guy who could always make you laugh with his very quick wit.

He is probably best known as Karen Walker's rival Beverly Leslie on "Will & Grace" - a role he apparently only played 17 times! That shows how big his presence on screen was. Take one look at his resume though, and it reads like a novel.

From movies like "The Help" to "The Last Sharknado: It's About Time". Numerous TV guest appearances from "Murphy Brown" to "Ally McBeal". Then, he had more significant TV roles in shows like "Boston Legal", "The Cool Kids", "American Horror Story", and "Call Me Kat".  Of course you cannot forget all of his social media videos he did during the pandemic! Whether he was a guest on a talk show or a character in a TV horror show, he always found a way to make you laugh.

Leslie Jordan gone at age 67...WAY too soon.

Could we have asked for better weather for an October weekend?! Even Friday I was driving around with my windows cracked open. Then Saturday and Sunday somehow WAY surpassed it!!! I went and toured the houses in downtown Akron with my mom and my car said it was approaching 80 degrees!!! 

Can we have this all winter long (except Christmas Eve and Day)??? I'd rather have this in January and February than the feet of snow we had last year! The only complaint I have about this weekend is that trick or treat is this coming weekend. This would have been perfect to sit outside passing out candy.

Right now, my phone says partly cloudy and a high of 64 for Saturday. Hopefully that holds up...fingers crossed.

The last two houses in Downtown Akron are being torn down this coming Monday, October 24th. They were built in the 1890s and are owned by St Bernard Catholic Church (which is a BEAUTIFUL church inside if you've never been). The church is going to use the property the houses sit on for a new, yet-to-be-determined purpose.

Over the years, the houses have been used as a women's shelter, a convent, and other uses. The public will have an opportunity to tour the homes one last time this Sunday afternoon, October 23rd from 3-6pm.

I plan to stop by sometime on Sunday and take a peek at Akron history. If you are interested, the houses are located at the corner of High & State streets in downtown Akron. Don't let this opportunity pass you by!